The Detroit Lions are on the verge of clinching their first division title since 1993.
The only way that does not happen is if the Lions lose all three of their remaining games (@ Vikings, @ Cowboys, vs. Vikings) and the Minnesota Vikings win all three of their remaining games (vs. Lions, vs. Packers, @ Lions).
That’s certainly not an impossible outcome, but with the Lions already favored by three points in Minnesota this week, it would certainly be a surprise at this point.
Some Lions fans may be taking the “I’ll believe it when I see it” approach, which… fair.
This franchise has gotten close to winning their division before, only to break their fans’ hearts.
But perhaps this should be a bit reassuring: Almost no Minnesota Vikings fans believe their team is going to win out.
This week, for their Reacts survey, our frenemies at Daily Norseman asked their readers to make a prediction for the Vikings’ record in their final three games.
The amount of fans who predicted 3-0 was so low, it didn’t even make their weekly graphic.
Some quick math shows that about seven percent of Vikings fans believe they will win out.
Of course, it’s worth noting this poll is catching Vikings fans at a rough point.
They’re coming off an inexcusable overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and they’ve only won one of their last four games—an uninspiring 3-0 victory over the Raiders.
So even a large majority of Vikings fans believe the Lions will eventually clinch the NFC North over the next few weeks.
And for what it’s worth, the playoff odds certainly seem to agree, as most probability models have the Lions between 93 and 96 percent to clinch the division.
